Treatment results and prognostic factors in patients with malignant fibrous histiocytoma

The objective of this study is to investigate the treatment results, prognostic factors, the role of postoperative radiotherapy, and the usefulness of American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) Staging System (2002) for soft tissue sarcomas in malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH). Between November 1987 and December 2000, 76 patients with localized MFH underwent surgery as the primary treatment modality with or without radiotherapy in our institution and were reviewed retrospectively. Patients with regional nodal disease, distant metastases or retroperitoneal disease were excluded from our study. All patients had at least 27 months of follow-up. The 5-year overall survival rate, local control rate, and distant metastasis-free rate were 74%, 62%, and 87%, respectively. In multivariate analysis, AJCC 2002 staging system was the only independent prognostic factor for overall survival rates (p=0.0017). Postoperative radiotherapy was the only significant factor for local control rates (p=0.0024). In conclusion, staging system is a prognostic predictor for overall survival rates and postoperative radiotherapy can improve local control. However, the optimal adjuvant treatment strategy for MFH should still be further explored.